MiToS re-built/fit- versilcraft Mystery43

[BartW]

Here you see the other preparations and fittings at deck level where the hawseholes are going to be done. Needed to get level and finish it properly so that the mat wont be on thin air at points.

.

are you sure that the hawsholes deck plates are level ?
from the pics it looks like a bit uphill (probably only a impression on the pic)

on BA, they were level, but because the teak was less sanded IN the awshole, the passage was a bit uphill.
we sanded them to be downhill, and now they drain the water from the deck MUCH quicker

I've only got one passage on each side, at the rear, almost in the corner,
ALL the water coming from the bow has to pass there,
we need to make a few extra hawsholes somewhere halfway the side deck's (as discussed in my moisture thread)

 

[vas]

Thanks for the update Vas. Are you getting your work/life balance back?

yep, getting there. Semester ended yesterday, so in theory I've got 2-3weeks where I can spent most mornings at the boatyard (weather permitting but there are lots of jobs to be done inside so I'll find something to keep me occupied...)

are you sure that the hawsholes deck plates are level ?
from the pics it looks like a bit uphill (probably only a impression on the pic)

on BA, they were level, but because the teak was less sanded IN the awshole, the passage was a bit uphill.
we sanded them to be downhill, and now they drain the water from the deck MUCH quicker

I've only got one passage on each side, at the rear, almost in the corner,
ALL the water coming from the bow has to pass there,
we need to make a few extra hawsholes somewhere halfway the side deck's (as discussed in my moisture thread)

Yes, they are definitely downhill
didn't want to overdo it, as there's going to be teak glued on top, so I'll get the sloping on the teak as well. I am aware of the accessibility issues so my inner bulwark panels will be removable so I can do my sanding without restrictions. The hull side around the last two frames is going to be replaced as it wasn't in good condition due to the scuppers leaking everywhere...

You should definitely open a few holes along the way-it's a bloody long way on BA!!!
Since I have a step from side decks to aft deck, I'm seriously thinking of introducing a small ledge leading small quantities (mainly of rain water) to the side and not drive them all the way around the water/diesel intakes and down to the aft deck. You'll see what I mean in a couple of weeks when all the cabinets are going to be designed/formed.

cheers

V.

 

[vas]

evening all,

managed two half days worth of work (unfortunately still quite busy with real work...) and sorted out all the damaged panels around where the end of superstructure ends by the sliding doors to the salon and the old step towards the side decks. That's were the water and diesel intakes live in a flush mounted GRP!!! section. It's one of the three GRP items identified in MiToS the other two being the exhaust covers and the engine room air outlets.
Decided to replace some pieces one of which was the port side with the water intake section. George sorted a new piece and today went to his workshop to route the lip for the flush mounting.

Back in the yard, got the spare pieces from the aft deck replacement 12mm ply and cut in shape and glued/bolted onto the deck. That's going to be the "floor" to the seating cabinets for the transom and the new longer side steps to the bows. All three will be opening for storing all sorts of things (lines and fenders mainly). Decided to put them in place first and since weather tomorrow is iffy, I'll soak in CPES and put the 280g/m2 matt on Sat morning. The reason for the "floor" is that there's going to be 8mm teak laid on top of the ply+matt on the aft deck so whatever happens in the cabinets should be higher so that water exits from them. I'd prefer 15mm tbh, but I had nice and suitable pieces of 12mm laying around so used them instead. Bolted them also straight through the other 12mm deck ply and to the iroko beams underneath so should strengthen the deck a bit. Although the horizontal sections of the seating will give more to the whole construction.

all pieces ready for epoxing

Got a spare 3+m long piece of iroko that was prepared for the chines (from the time where part of the hull were replaced on port side and chines had to be chiseled out...) and we'll use that as the bottom beam to support the 12mm vertical sides for the transom seat. Decided NOT to built the cabinet on the workshop and come and bolt it on place as imho there's minimal chances of this exercise succeeding (all being moderately to seriously curved) plus I'd feel uncomfortable with a piece of furniture that would epoxy and bolt on the deck with potential gaps that could again potentially end up dump and rot. So piece by piece on the spot and matt and epoxy when appropriate to seal the lot.

At the workshop following the top coat on all the pieces, the two saloon pieces were checked and needed some attention so sanded, repaired, primed again and ready for top coat.

If I can get back to proper speed, cabinets should be moved in place before the end of the month and she'll start looking like a boat again

More news at the w/e most likely

cheers

V.

 

[rbcoomer]

Good progress again Vas - what on earth will you do with all your time when you're finished?

 

[vas]

Good progress again Vas - what on earth will you do with all your time when you're finished?

easy,

relax for a year,
start feeling odd and uncomfortable,
do some more research/teaching work,
get bored,
panic,
try to find something to keep me busy
go back to all the unfinished projects and try to tidy them up,
ok, you get the pattern...

but then MiToS should be able to provide the issues that'll keep me busy for some time

V.

 

[rafiki_]

easy,

relax for a year,
start feeling odd and uncomfortable,
do some more research/teaching work,
get bored,
panic,
try to find something to keep me busy
go back to all the unfinished projects and try to tidy them up,
ok, you get the pattern...

but then MiToS should be able to provide the issues that'll keep me busy for some time

V.

There is always something to attend to on a boat!

 

[vas]

There is always something to attend to on a boat!

so true!

more real work deadlines, so only managed Sat on the boatyard.

On the aft deck front, the endings of the pillars supporting the f/b are finished

The marinco shorepower socket will be mounted (as per the other thread) on the stbrd side replaced ply piece

The mat and epoxy on the rest of the deck is done (was a bit of a bitch to follow the 12mm steps of the cabinets floors, but should be ok)

George worked on the bow, sanding and feathering the new ply sections to the old hull sides. Result looks v.good, so applied a couple of coats of CPES to start with and will continue with priming when the hull will be painted.

The approx. 20cm strip over the hull ending to deck needs to be recreated, double curvature will be fun, but we'll get strips to more or less right shape, bolt them temporarily, sort out the top and then measure and cut the lower ending. Should be a full days work for George and part time me helping to reach the bow roller.

cheers

V.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Well done Vas, must be very satisfying seeing the boat coming back together. That's great progress, what are you going to put on the deck in the cockpit, or are you just going to paint it?

 

[vas]

Well done Vas, must be very satisfying seeing the boat coming back together. That's great progress, what are you going to put on the deck in the cockpit, or are you just going to paint it?

I'm going to lay teak (8mm is the plan, maybe slightly less, we'll see) already got 3 50X150 approx. 2m long beams waiting for slicing (probably not the right term, but anyway)
Need to do my maths and get the rest I'll need.
Anyway, got to finish all the messy jobs, George must finish the all the painting and weather must be hot and dry, so probably May.

V.

 

[vas]

morning all,

aft seating done, side "steps" ready to be glued/screwed in place tomorrow.

First job was aligning and fitting the backrest support beams. They are needed for both the 6mm ply rear side of the cabinet but also to support the seat cover.

Then was forming and fitting the 6mm ply for the aft side of the cabinet. I want this to be removable so that when (and not if) something needs to be modified (re passerelle, bathing platform shower head, etc) I'll have decent access. In the following pics you also see the test fitting the sides of the cabinet. Short sides were straight and easy to tackle, long one was almost 3m long (so needed two scarfing joints to keep the joints on low stress areas) and wasn't easily persuaded to bend that much hence the wedge to the old lazarette hatch on the second pic Took both of us to bend this 12mm ply. Good thing we had the step on the deck to press against.

Next job was getting the wedge shape batten for the curved part of the cabinet side secured in place and glue/screw the sides in place. If you're careful you can spot the 100X10mm scupper on the next pic

Next morning we continued with the fitting of the curved part. Note the detail of the iroko section keeping the two sides in right angle and chamfered (is that the right word?). Tomorrow I'll do a bit of sanding and filling small gaps and screwheads before I cover the lot in a 80gr/m2 mat and epoxy ready for painting in due course.

And the finished article:

The seat is going to be glued out of two 6mm sheets of ply to get the curvature right. I did follow the (slight) athwartship curvature of the aft deck on the seating mainly to make sure I don't get pools of water anywhere and in order to have some lumbar support when seated even on the sides of the bench. I'm considering removable upholstered backrests though (v.low priority though )
Still debating if I'm going to lay teak on the seat. Mind it's going to be a fixed central section and two opening/liftable ones on the sides. Due to the curvature (in plan) I doubt I'll be able to fit hinges to them, so they'll probably be simply removable unless there some clever ideas!

Side steps towards the side decks are done and will be glued together tomorrow although I forgot to organise that in advance when the patches on the pillars from the f/b at aft deck level were made so now had to do new scarf joints there. Not a big problem when finished though.
In order to do these steps, we'll have to fit new strong pieces of iroko (30X140X1300) on the middle of the bulwarks secured on each frame and where the rear cleats are going to be bolted on. There's going to be another set of possibly retractable cleats on the top of the bulwark aft.

more news after the w/e

cheers

V.

 

[Tender_aft]

Due to the curvature (in plan) I doubt I'll be able to fit hinges to them, so they'll probably be simply removable unless there some clever ideas!

Why don't you fix a straight piece (the other side follows the curve)? Then you can fit a normal hinge to the straight side.

 

[vas]

Why don't you fix a straight piece (the other side follows the curve)? Then you can fit a normal hinge to the straight side.

Thought of that, but you have to deal with the curvature of the seat as well. seat is not flat. So when opened, the seat is going to dip low between the hinges unless I put two massive hinges in the middle and leave the ends free. Doubt it's going to look nice plus the gap between fixed and movable piece is going to be bigger than normal.
Anyway for sure I'm going to get the seats built and then we'll see how they fit and how they look like when hinged.

cheers

V.

 

[Tender_aft]

Thought of that, but you have to deal with the curvature of the seat as well. seat is not flat. So when opened, the seat is going to dip low between the hinges unless I put two massive hinges in the middle and leave the ends free. Doubt it's going to look nice plus the gap beutween fixed and movable piece is going to be bigger than normal.
Anyway for sure I'm going to get the seats built and then we'll see how they fit and how they look like when hinged.

cheers

V.

Curved on the top so it works as wanted but can't you have a flat piece underneath and fit hinges Internally?

 

[wakeup]

Great progress again VAS, it is a delight to see this thread light up with a new entry from you.

On the bench seat, can you not have two fold up compartments with the hinged running back to front in the middle. Sorry not explaining myself well, a sketch would be better. In other words, make to long hatches, mirror opposites and have two hinges running back to front in the middle, you could even put a gas ram on each side to keep them propped up whilst accessing the storage spaces below.

 

[MapisM]

Thought of that, but you have to deal with the curvature of the seat as well. seat is not flat.

Why not? When I had a very similar seat made for my boat, the carpenter suggested to follow the deck curvature on the bottom, but leave the upper part flat.
Aside from being obviously easier to build and more practical, it's also not bad aesthetically, as I guess you might fear.
I'll have a look in my pics, maybe I've got one which shows it.

Edit: here it is, before painting the vertical panels and putting the covers on, but gives the idea....

 

[vas]

Curved on the top so it works as wanted but can't you have a flat piece underneath and fit hinges Internally?

yes, but in that case the lid should hinge DOWN!! hinge should really be on the "inside" of the opening not outside, don't see how it will work

Great progress again VAS, it is a delight to see this thread light up with a new entry from you.

On the bench seat, can you not have two fold up compartments with the hinged running back to front in the middle. Sorry not explaining myself well, a sketch would be better. In other words, make to long hatches, mirror opposites and have two hinges running back to front in the middle, you could even put a gas ram on each side to keep them propped up whilst accessing the storage spaces below.

Thanks for the kind words!
Mind, that's a slightly crazy but excellent idea there, thanks :encouragement:
If I enlarge the central fixed section, I'll probably have two 480X1000 lids to open. Maybe gas struts will cost more than the whole cabinet, but a stop_and_keep_open mechanism as I currently have in the lazarette hatch would be handy. Will check how big the fixed section can be without problems, if I'll end up with a 480X800 lid, that'll be excellent and absolutely doable.

Why not? When I had a very similar seat made for my boat, the carpenter suggested to follow the deck curvature on the bottom, but leave the upper part flat.
Aside from being obviously easier to build and more practical, it's also not bad aesthetically, as I guess you might fear.

I can see the point and yes there are no aesthetical issues MM. I simply don't want to get into the fixed seating with smaller lids and lots of teak edging et al, I thought I'd just get three pieces of seating and IF I lay it with teak, I'll only have one edge to worry about.
Your transom is higher than mine (by 100-150mm I guess from the pic) which is A LOT for that part making it more comfortable than mine. So keeping it parallel to the deck I can have a slightly higher backrest on the sides. Plus rainwater has less chances of staying up there in small pools.

Will do some measurements and checks and come back with more ideas.

BTW MM, on the pic you posted the round cover is for the manual rudder attachment?

cheers

V.

 

[MapisM]

Your transom is higher than mine (by 100-150mm I guess from the pic) which is A LOT for that part making it more comfortable than mine.
So keeping it parallel to the deck I can have a slightly higher backrest on the sides
...
BTW MM, on the pic you posted the round cover is for the manual rudder attachment?

I see your point.
Re. the transom height of my boat, I'm afraid I can't check it atm, but by heart I'd say it's just about half way between 70 and 80cm.
And re. your last Q, yep, well spotted! Can't remember, have you got the same arrangement on MiToS?

 

[Divemaster1]

Vas,

I'll get a picture of my hinges.... they sort of lift seat up first, then swing back... but bench not too dis-similar..

Think they may be something like these ..

 

[vas]

I see your point.
Re. the transom height of my boat, I'm afraid I can't check it atm, but by heart I'd say it's just about half way between 70 and 80cm.
And re. your last Q, yep, well spotted! Can't remember, have you got the same arrangement on MiToS?

MM,
measured again today after marking the transom end of the bench, I'm approx. 620mm max dropping to 530 at the sides. Best backrest is at the middle at 220mm
I'll probably built a removable backrest at some point, see how it goes this season and that'll be in the next to-do list.

Re, manual tiller, MiToS had a hole on the aft deck on stbrd side that was later covered when they re-teaked the deck. I'm planning to do it again, I hope the seat doesn't interfere, shouldn't really, will measure tomorrow. Problem is that I've no manual tiller on board and I've no idea how they looked like. I can simply built a foldable (or two piece) one but would be nice to see an original. Do you happen to have any pics of yours? Again not in a hurry.

Vas,

I'll get a picture of my hinges.... they sort of lift seat up first, then swing back... but bench not too dis-similar..

Thanks Alf, that's an idea, I've got a 1000+page catalogue by Hettich, wont do particularly good bedtime reading, but may find something in there. My only concern is that most of them are NOT ss and wont last more than a few seasons there...
Alf, I owe you a detailed reply re your trip to Athens, haven't forgotten it, just need to talk to a couple of friends.


Back in MiToS, finished with all the cabinetry at the aft deck, need sanding/filling/sanding plus building the lids/seats now but not in a hurry for them. Tomorrow will be sorting out small jobs at the aft deck, plus adding the three supports for the seat on the main bench. I've checked sizes (and forgot doh!) it's doable to have hinges the way wakeup suggested with 480X850-900 pieces. So will do the fixed part in the middle and see how easy it is to lift these pieces
Will also prepare the top of the bulwark end lip of the side of the hull for epoxy/mat application all around the aft deck. This means the missing central cap of the transom will have to be fitted.
Once I'm done with that, I can bring and lift the passerelle in place, that'll be fun. Don't want to leave that after painting as I have to sort out layout and routing all the pipework in the lazarette for all the kit getting there.

Small cabinets/steps/line storage in place. Note the 140X30X1300 piece of iroko where the cleat will be bolted. An upgrade from the smaller and shorter piece found in the same place. New piece distributes loads to 3 frames plus the corner beam (must have a special name, no idea what though...)

Detail of the cabinets, decided to cut a 30mm grove on top so that I can store excess line in the box rather than having them laying around

Next task for this coming week is figuring out what hatches and layout I'm going to have in the bow deck area.
For reference, craft originally looked like this (photo taken from the other Mystere I viewed before getting mine)

Windlass obviously stays (although mine may be slightly towards the bow, will check)
Same for the round hatch that was for the crew "cabin"/shoebox and now for the bow cabin just above our bed
Cleats remain (may move forward or back by up to 200mm roughly if there is a need)
Footswitches will be also somewhere I guess port where the line drum of the windlass is. Don't see much point having them on the chain side... (open to ideas though!)

There was originally no access to the chain locker from the deck which I don't like.
So, plan is to introduce two new things:

A. hatch
B. deck shower (fresh water)

Easy option is to cut a hatch and leave the shower head and pipe in there
Not sure though, plus I'd want to store a few smallish things in there as well.

so was thinking along the lines of one hatch with a false "floor" to store things and make sure the deck hose wont interfere with the chain, that you can all lift up and access/wash/untangle the chain. Mind I'm keeping the 450X300mm hatch on the bulkhead but that's now behind a cabinet at the foot of the bed and I don't want to mess the bed with all sorts of crud if I need to do something simple.

Existing frames under the deck are like this. The first bluish frame from the bow is in the middle of the anchor locker, the second frame is the bulkhead:

note the massive piece joining the bulkhead to the bow:

Starting Q for what would be an acceptable hatch size
250X350 acceptable? Not sure I can cram something larger!
Wont be round (hate dealing with curvature in teak afterwards ) probably trapezoid or could be square
Following Q, you'd opt for a flush mounted handle to lift up or what?
Foot switches on port and windlass offset to port means the hatch's probably going to be to strbrd, any objections?

obviously any ideas welcomed!

cheers

V.

 

[Tender_aft]

yes, but in that case the lid should hinge DOWN!! hinge should really be on the "inside" of the opening not outside, don't see how it will work

Divemaster1 answered this. As shown in his picture, they are like kitchen cabinet hinges. They make them in SS too. Just had a quick look and here's one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavy-Stainless-Kitchen-Cabinet-Closets/dp/B007XBR7Z0 You just need to find them strong enough (as perhaps kitchen cabinet doors are lighter than your seat lids) and of the correct SS.